We are delighted to announce that the highly anticipated second edition of our embroidery manual is now available on Sunbula’s online shop!



Exploring a range of embroidery methods used throughout Historic Palestine, this new edition unveils rare and forgotten stitching techniques like Tahriri (couching) and Manajel (binding), making it an invaluable resource for both seasoned artisans and enthusiastic beginners. Alongside the technical content of the embroidery techniques, readers will find eye-opening personal stories from seasoned Palestinian embroiderers and rare historical photographs from the Birzeit University Museum, offering readers a deeper connection to the artisanal craft. Moreover, in response to interest from Sunbula’s global community of supporters, we've made this edition available in digital format, ensuring greater accessibility for embroidery enthusiasts worldwide.
 

  


While the main content remains largely unchanged from the first edition, with only minor edits and technique updates, the release of this second edition carries huge significance. Published amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza, it serves as a crucial effort and reminder to protect and preserve Palestinian cultural heritage. Home to generations of highly skilled craftspeople who have kept alive traditional crafts like embroidery, weaving, pottery, and woodwork, Gazans now face unprecedented challenges. Tragically, two of Sunbula's partner organizations in Gaza – Sulafa Embroidery Centre and Atfaluna Crafts – have been destroyed, with their staff and artisans displaced. In light of these circumstances, this second edition emphasizes the importance of teaching these embroidery techniques to future Palestinian generations, strengthening the sustainability of this rich cultural tradition.

The complex beauty of Palestinian embroidery often comes from combining multiple techniques, in addition to the variety of vibrant colors and designs. Here’s a sneak peek of our favourite embroidery techniques, all in one embroidery piece!


 

This gorgeous embroidery piece contains four different techniques:

1. Tahriri stitch

A purely decorative embroidery stitch, this couching technique is usually done by catching and fixing a silk cord, or qasab (gilt, metallic silver or gold cord) to the surface of a base fabric with a finer thread. It is perhaps the second most popular embellishment embroidery technique used since the mid- nineteenth century after cross-stitch.
 

2. Sabaleh stitch

This chevron-shaped stitch, popular in Bethlehem and Jaffa area dresses, is a flat, V-shaped technique used for both function and decoration. Often done in alternating colors, it commonly borders silk inserts on chest panels, yokes, side panels, and headdresses.
 

3. Tishrim zigzag stitch for patchwork

A flat edging stitch used to appliqué patches on base fabrics, this patchwork appears on many examples of dress from the very south of Palestine to its far north, with the stitch having been used to appliqué on very simple square panels or rectangular strips as well as on intricate and curiously shaped patchwork.
 

4. Tihshai stitch

The filling satin stitch is a flat stitch that is usually used as a supplementary stitch with couching and other outlining stitches to fill in and color the elaborate and floral designs drawn by the couching cord, and so on.

The creation of this manual was made possible through the collaborative efforts of our distinguished curatorial team. Tania Nasir and Widad Kawar, well-respected experts on Palestinian embroidery and authors of "Palestinian Embroidery: Traditional 'fallahi' Cross-stitch," lent their expertise to the project. They were joined by Omar Joseph Nasser-Khoury, a fashion designer, and Shirabe Yamada, Sunbula's executive director.

We worked closely with a number of Palestinian women embroiderers, who played a crucial role in collecting information from elderly artisans in their local communities and demonstrating their local embroidery processes for the team. These embroidery demonstrations were videotaped, analyzed, and then transformed into the illustrated guide that forms the heart of this technical manual. Last but not least, this project could not have been possible without the support of The Birzeit University Museum, which generously allowed us to study and photograph their traditional costume collections, providing invaluable visual references for the book. 

This latest edition of our embroidery manual stands as a testament to the resilience and beauty of Palestinian craft traditions, offering both a practical guide and a cultural yardstick for embroiderers and enthusiasts around the world.

While the first edition was supported by numerous institutional and individual donors, including over 100 contributors, this second edition is self-financed, covering only the printing costs which we are hoping will be recouped through sales.